A peaceful outcome to six-hour city siege

A 35-year-old Tamworth man appeared in court yesterday over a six-hour stand-off with police at an Oxley Vale home on Wednesday.

The man was subsequently referred for mental health assessment after a short court appearance where he faced charges of breaching an apprehended violence order and stalk/ intimidate with the intention of causing physical/ mental harm.

The charges related to a five-hour siege at a home in Ernest St, just off Yarmouth Pde in suburban Tamworth.

The man was finally arrested by Tamworth police about 4pm on Wednesday, after intense negotiations by specialist police, but not before police were forced to smash a window of the home to get inside after they smelt smoke.

The event unfolded after what appeared to be a routine call to a domestic dispute in which police said a woman had been locked out of the home.

Police responded to the call and found a man had barricaded himself inside and was in possession of a kitchen knife.

Officers tried to speak to him through a window, and saw him sitting on a lounge chair with the knife on a coffee table in front of him.

Officers said the man placed furniture behind doors inside the house, and while police managed to unlock the door with a key, they could not get inside.

The police station’s State Protection Support Unit – the equivalent of Sydney’s tactical response unit – was also activated.

Paramedics and firefighters were also on standby and the street blocked off to the public while negotiations continued.

Police finally smashed their way into the rear of the house and took the man to hospital for assessment, then to Tamworth Police Station where he was charged.

Early yesterday, police praised their specialist colleagues for achieving the safe outcome.

SPSU officers are police with specialist skills who can be called from duty to assist with critical situations requiring a tactical response.

SPSU officers were also used in the hunt for former fugitive Malcolm Naden.